Regional Budget 12/01/07

GateHouse News Service Regional Budget (12/01/07)
Here are the top Illinois stories coming today from GateHouse News Service. Stories are available at www.gatehousenewsservice.com
*Please check this Web site in the evening for changes to story lineup, including breaking news.
Contacts:
Regional Editor Jonie Larson, (217) 816-3343, jlarson@gatehousemedia.com
National Editor Jean Hodges, (630) 348-3350, jhodges@gatehousemedia.com

News

DO GOOD SCOUT: (w/pic) Tayler McGillis, the 13-year-old Cub Scout from Toluca that has received accolades for his collecting of aluminum cans for recycling instead of being placed into landfills, is at his good deeds again. Taylor has used money from the can collecting to purchase enough energy-saving lightbulbs for the 1,280 people in his hometown. He'll be handing out the bulbs Saturday at the American Legion Hall. We'll hook up with Tayler today and talk to him about his efforts. SMITH. PEORIA/Illinois News.

BUREAU STORY: Pharmacist changes. A new law makes sweeping changes to how pharmacists can serve their customers in Illinois. Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the revisions of the Illinois Pharmacy Practice Act in late October - the first time the law has been changed since 1987. "The changes in this law make it easier for pharmacists to provide the professional services we need to improve our health," he said at that time in a written statement. HEUPEL/Illinois News.

MONTEREY MINE: Shutting down at the end of the year, according to radio report. LANDIS/SPRINGFIELD/Illinois News.

NEW PUBLISHER: One of the first priorities of the new publisher at The State Journal-Register is to put a new newsroom management team in place after three of the paper's top executives resigned earlier this month. Scott Bowers, most recently a regional controller for the GateHouse Media Inc. papers in Springfield, Peoria and Rockford, succeeds Sue Schmitt on Dec. 18, but he told newspaper staffers Friday he expects to spend much of the next two weeks in Springfield. LANDIS/SPRINGFIELD/Illinois News.

STORM ANNIVERSARY: (w/pic) Saturday is the one-year anniversary of the big storm that dropped almost seven inches of snow and ice on this area. And, it looks like there is a chance for another storm — though not nearly as severe. Will revisit last year's storm and talk to the city and IDOT about how they are preparing for the anticipated bad weather moving into the area. Will include the forecast, as well. (15 inches by 7 p.m.) ANSTETT/PEORIA/Illinois News.

NEW VOTERS: New citizens will be sworn in today at the federal courthouse, at 10 and 2 p.m. The League of Women Voters is sending volunteers to register them to vote minutes after they are sworn in, giving the new citizens a say in the presidential election. (12-14 inches by 5:30 p.m.) KRAVETZ/PEORIA/Illinois News.

STATE BRIEFS: A collection of briefs from GateHouse newspapers across the state. Posted by 6 p.m./Illinois and Illinois News.

ECHOES OF OLD CHICAGO: CHICAGO – Like the pieces of amber that preserve prehistoric bugs, the thousands of glass-plate negatives from the defunct Chicago Daily News serve as glimpses into a lost world. Now some of these crisp, frozen images – of magnates, scoundrels, celebrities, common folk and
life-taking disasters – have been resurrected for a modern audience in “ Chicago Under Glass: Early Photographs from the Chicago Daily News." RAMSEY with digital art. Illinois/this evening.

5 THINGS TO KNOW OUT OF CHICAGO: A quick look at the last week in Chicago. RAMSEY/Illinois/this evening.

CHIEF OSCAR: Harlem Roscoe Fire Chief Oscar Presley has been a fixture in the local firefighting scene for decades. Some of his kids have followed in his footsteps and his department has state of the art equipment and its own training facility despite being mostly volunteer. We sit down with Oscar and talk about his success, what drives him to do what he does at the age of I believe 75. We also look at his well-known habit of predicting snowfalls each winter using cats and other methods which is part of local lore and other quirks that make up this unusual man. Also, we'll have others weigh in on his impact on firefighting in the Rock River Valley. BAXTER/LaCross/Shultz/ROCKFORD/Illinois News
--PUBLISH TIME(S) ONLINE: Anytime Saturday 5R ANGLE: Some know his as Harlem Roscoe's long-time fire chief. Others as the man who uses Native American customs and time-tested farmers tricks to predict the weather. For Oscar Presley, it's all about people and his service to them and having a bit of fun on the side. -- BREAKOUTS: Bio box on Oscar; Significant things that have occurred, purchases that have been made under his leadership.

RAPECASE: A second woman who claims that Ryan Gaertner raped her in 2002 testified this morning.
The Rockford resident, now 22, said it happened in November 2002, days before her 16th birthday. She said Gaertner took her to his grandfather’s house and raped her in his bedroom while the two were students at Rockford Christian High School. ROCKFORD/Illinois

Sports

ILLINOIS BASKETBALL: Preview vs. Weber State. Center Shaun Pruitt must adust to more attention. Meanwhile, coach Bruce Weber will watch to see if his team has the desire to improve. With preview capsule. SUPINIE. Champaign. Illinois sports and Big Ten. Moving this evening.